Leeds nostalgia: This month in 1946 - fined for fishing, no gas for city lamps and Leeds MP back from Poland

Neil Hudson

This week in 1946, as the UK recovered from the ravages of war, newly elected Leeds East Labour MP Alice Smart had just returned from a fact finding trip to Poland, which she described as “stricken”.

The future baroness, who later served in the Government died in 1993, said virtually every building in Warsaw had been systematically destroyed by the Germans.

But she said the spirit of the people was undented and that new buildings were being erected, including a bridge over the river.

In other news, three Leeds anglers were fined by magistrates for stealing goldfish from a mill dam in Otley.

Five Bradfordians, the youngest of them 15, were found guilty and fined up to £2 each. One of the boys had 94 goldfish, worth over £11. They had been spotted fishing in the afternoon and the police called. In their defence, their father, who was also charged, argued the boys had found the goldfish in jars under a bush and he had gone to get them away from the water.

In Leeds, plans were unveiled to redesign City Square, returning it more to how it looked in 1903 when it was originally created. The statue of the Black Prince and the underground toilets would have ballustrades put around them under the new scheme.

Finally, chair of the newly created Leeds Street Lighting Committee said city folk would have to endure a dark winter, because of the lack of lighting.

At that time, the city had 23,000 streetlights, of which 21,000 were gas and that was strictly rationed by the Government. The city used 60 gross of gas mantles month, whereas the Government promised only 10 gross.